Kite Stays Ahead of a Large Pack : Golf: He leads by one stroke over Fehr, who shoots a 62. There are 12 players within five shots of the lead.

By MAL FLORENCE

Feb. 14, 1993 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

LA QUINTA —

Payne Stewart said Saturday that he has a 63 in his golf bag and it’s just a matter of eventually getting it out.

Rick Fehr had a 10-under-par 62 in his bag Saturday at Indian Wells and it still wasn’t good enough to take the lead in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

Tom Kite is the fourth-round leader of the Hope tournament. He followed his 64 Friday at Indian Wells with a 65 Saturday at the Palmer course at PGA West.

So Kite has a one-stroke lead over Fehr, and is three shots ahead of Fred Couples, Steve Elkington and Bob Lohr going into today’s final round of the 90-hole tournament.

Stewart is four shots behind Kite along with Scott Gump, Bill Glasson and Gil Morgan.

“I feel very good about my game,” Kite said. “If somebody beats me, they are going to have to play very well.”

Kite has a 72-hole score of 263, 25 under par, and the tournament record of 29 under is in jeopardy.

It’s a prestigious leader board as Kite and Couples are the defending U.S. Open and Masters champions, respectively, and Stewart won the 1991 U.S. Open.

Fehr, who lost in a five-man playoff here last year to John Cook, is not intimidated by the champions of major events.

“Playing on golf courses like this I don’t think an Open championship means a whole lot,” Fehr said. “It’s not like we’ll be out there with knee-high rough and fast greens like Pebble Beach (the U.S. Open site) was last year.

“This is kind of a shootout. We’ll just let it rip. It allows a lot of aggressive play. I don’t think experience means a heck of a lot.”

As for shooting a 62 and not surging into the lead, Fehr said, “I didn’t expect to be trailing, but that’s the nature of the tournament.”

Fehr has won one tournament in his eight-year career, the 1986 B.C. Open, and he wants to avoid a playoff here. He is 0-3 in playoffs.

He had eight birdies and an eagle in his round of 62 that didn’t even break the course record of 61 at Indian Wells. Six of Fehr’s birdie putts were from eight feet or less.

Kite had a bogey-free round with seven birdies. He also missed a putt from about four feet on the 16th hole. And his birdie try on the 15th hole from seven to eight feet nicked the cup. “I had some fun today,” Kite said. “I hit the ball really well from tee to green. I let a couple (putts) slip away, but I putted very well on the front nine.”

Kite, playing with singer Glen Campbell, was the first group to start at the Palmer course. However, he had a half-hour wait when he reached the 10th hole. He said he doesn’t let delays bother him.

That was evident, when he hit a perfect drive followed by a seven-iron that landed five feet from the pin, where he made his birdie putt.

The pin placements will be more difficult today when the pros shed their amateur partners and play the final round at the Palmer course.

There are 12 players within five shots of the lead.

“It’s difficult to separate yourself from the field,” Kite said. “The courses aren’t so difficult that you can leave the players who aren’t playing so good.”

The cut was a record 10 under par, a score that would have won eight tour events last year.

Couples, who shot a 66 at the Palmer course, said it was the best round he has played all year.

He has played in only one tour event, the Tournament of Champions at La Costa last Janaury, where he finished in a tie for 10th.

“I’ve picked up my game a little bit,” Couples said, “but I’m a little rusty around the greens.”

Nonetheless, he had seven birdies and a bogey in his round.

As for his chances of catching Kite, Couples said, “It will be very difficult.”

Stewart, who won the 1989 PGA Championship and the 1991 U.S. Open, had a disappointing season in 1992 when he failed to win a tournament.

He shot a 67 Saturday at the Palmer course and said, “I’m very excited about the way I’m playing.”

Stewart added that he is managing his game better and has his patience back on the course. Golf Notes

Bol Estes, who is at 268, shot a 63 at Tamarisk, tying the tournament record set by Johnny Miller in 1973. . . . Scott Simpson shot a 63 at the Palmer course, the third time the course record has been equaled in this year’s tournament. He is at 269. . . . Players who did not make the cut included Arnold Palmer, Phil Mickelson, Rocco Mediate, Gene Sauers and Mac O’Grady.

BOB HOPE GOLF

LEADERS Tom Kite: 67-67-64-65--263

Rick Fehr: 66-66-70-62--264

Fred Couples: 68-64-68-66--266

Steve Elkington: 69-63-66-68--266

Bob Lohr: 68-66-66-66--266

Scott Gump: 68-65-67-67--267

Payne Stewart: 70-66-64-67--267

Bill Glasson: 70-64-66-67--267

Gil Morgan: 69-66-67-65--267

OTHERS John Cook: 66-67-70-65--268

Scott Simpson: 71-69-66-63--269